99 
Sir  llumphri/  Davy,  Bart.,  P.R.S. 
Davy  was  a most  enthusiastic  anoler  throughout  his  life, 
and  Maria  Edgeworth  called  angling  his  “ little  madness.” 
On  one  occasion  he  told  Ticknor  that  he  thought  if  he  were 
obliged  to  renounce  either  fishing  or  chemistry  he  would  find 
it  a severe  struggle  to  choose  which  to  give  up. 
C’hevreul  was  also  a brother  of  the  angle,  and  in  conse- 
quence it  is  said  that  there  was  a closer  intimacy  between 
him  and  Davy  than  between  the  latter  and  the  other  French 
chemists.  C’hevreul  ])reserved  as  a sacred  trophy  some 
artificial  flies  which  he  had  received  fi'om  Davy.  Wollaston 
was  also  an  enthusiastic  angler,  and  in  1823  he  made  a fishing 
e.vcursion  into  Ireland  and  Scotland  with  his  friend  Davy. 
Davy  in  his  enforced  leisure  from  .severe  illness  wrote  his 
Salinoiiia,  which  was  published  in  1828.  He  wished  to  do 
for  dy  fishing  what  Isaac  Walton  had  done  for  bottom  fishing  ; 
hut  it  was  a dangerous  rivalry  to  set  uj),  and  the  hook,  when 
contrasted  with  the  Compleat  Angler,  cannot  hut  stand  at  a 
great  disadvantage.  It  is,  however,  of  much  interest  as  the 
work  of  Davy,  and  in  spite  of  the  adverse  criticisms  of 
('hristopher  North  and  others  it  passed  through  many  editions. 
8cott  wrote  for  the  Quarterly  Review'  a delightful  review  in 
which  he  alludes  to  the  chief  beauties  of  the  hook,  describing 
it  as  the  production  of  “ the  most  illustrious  and  successful 
investigator  of  inductive  ])hilosophy.” 
Scott  writes  as  a follower  of  Walton  himself,  and  says 
that,  “like  the  hone.sf  keej>er  in  the  New  Forest,  when  we 
endeavour  to  form  an  idea  of  Paradise  we  always  suppose  that 
trout  stream  o'ointj  throuoh  it.”  He  has  .some  humorous 
allusions  to  the  humanity  of  angling,  and  when  Davy  urges 
against  the  attacks  of  Byron  on  the  practices  of  Walton  and 
his  followers  that  in  all  j)rohahilitv  fish  are  less  sensitive  to 
pain  than  man,  Scott  remarks,  “ under  the  favour  of  such 
high  authority  this  is  a point  which  none  can  know  hut  the 
fish  himself.” 
Scott  .sings  the  praises  of  fishing  for  salmon,  the  king  of 
fish,  and  glorifies  the  ])ursuit.  In  analysing  Davy’s  hook  he 
gives  a delightful  description  of  the  distinction  Ijetween  the 
adept  and  the  tyro.  The  angler  for  salmon,  like  the  j)oet,  is 
horn  and  not  made,  and  “ no  degree  of  zealous  study  will 
supply  the  want  of  natural  parts.” 
Scott  draws  a charming  comparison  between  AValton  and 
Daw,  and  (juotes  a beautiful  j)icture  from  Salmonia  in  which 
1 Vol.  38  (1828). 
